Tragedy
by AJBerry445
Summary: It starts out as a normal request for Team Natsu. They travel to a strange forest and meet an evil man who takes away one of their beloved nakama. What will Team Natsu do next with one member gone? suck at summaries, first fanfic try it out please :)
1. Chapter 1: A Day at the Guild

Chapter 1: A Day at the Guild

Lucy stood in front of Fairy Tail's request board, pondering her options. Just two months ago, she and the rest of her team had become S-class mages when they found Igneel and the other dragons, fighting a terrible battle against their imprisoner, Acnologia. Since then, Lucy had acquired many more keys, including seven of the insanely rare dragon keys. These keys contained magic that would allow Lucy to use different types of caster magic and not just her holder magic. She had acquired the fire dragon's key, the ice dragon's key, the iron dragon's key, the wind dragon's key, the light dragon's key, the shadow dragon's key, and the earth dragon's key. Of course, the magic that came from these keys would never be as powerful as the natural magic Natsu and Gray used, but it would allow her to be much more powerful.

"Oi Luce! LUCE! LUCY!" a certain pink-haired mage shouted at her. "Have you chosen a job yet? We've been waiting around forever and I'm getting hungry!"

"Aye Sir!"

"I'm coming Natsu! Wait one more minute…" Lucy closed her eyes and randomly plucked a request off the board. Her eyes widened as she read over it. _Demolish the abandoned town of Gilcest. Located in the Eastern Mountains. Contact Lord Harwitt to collect reward. Reward: 120,000,000 jewel._ She had picked the perfect job!

"Lushee, I'm getting hungry. Can you call that giant crab so I can eat him?"

"YOU WILL NOT EAT MY CELESTIAL SPIRITS! Anyway, Natsu, I found a job that seems perfect for you. All we have to do is destroy this town- something you should be able to do pretty easily, considering you do it ALL THE TIME- and visit this Lord Harwitt guy to collect the reward."

Just as Lucy was saying this, Erza and Gray walked up.

"I bet I can destroy more of the town than you, eh Natsu?" the dark-haired mage said.

"You couldn't destroy anything even if you wanted too, you half-ass stripper." The pink-haired troublemaker replied.

"WHY DON'T YOU TRY COMING AT ME FLAME BRAIN, AND WE'LL SEE HOW MUCH OF YOU I CAN DESTROY!"

"OOOHHHHH YOU'RE ON! I'M ALL FIRED UP!"

Erza loomed over them with her ginormous wagon all packed up and ready to go, exuding an aura so dark Natsu and Gray fainted just looking at her. "If I see you two fighting in front of me again, there won't be enough of either of you to pick at."

Erza turned to Lucy with a bright smile. "Ready to go, Lucy? We'd better get an early start."

Lucy stood there, sweat- dropping. _Bipolar much…?_


	2. Chapter 2: Getting There

Chapter 2: Getting There

Sighing, Lucy started across the mountains with her teammates. They would reach their destination by tomorrow after a day of camping, and she was honestly starting to wonder how they could still maintain this much stamina and energy after six hours of hiking across treacherous landscape. She could hear Erza and Gray speaking loudly to each other, with the occasional shriek from Gray when he discovered he'd stripped unintentionally.

"'How can you guys still have so much energy after all this time?!', moshte orimas (she says)." Horologium, Lucy's clock spirit, said.

"Awww, come on Lucy. It's not that bad. We've only been walking for what, ten minutes?" Natsu replied with a flash of his signature grin.

Lucy sweat- dropped from her place inside Horologium. "'WE'VE BEEN WALKING THE ENTIRE DAY YOU MORON!', moshte orimas." Horologium deadpanned, seemingly completely calm.

"Ehhhh, really?" Natsu looked at the setting sun. "Hey, Lucy! The sun is setting! Natsu turned with a bewildered look on his face. "We've been walking the whole day…that went fast didn't it?"

_I don't know why I try with that idiot anymore… _Lucy thought.

The whole time Gray and Erza were far ahead of the two feuding guild members. _Those two…_ Erza thought. _I have a feeling about them…_

Gray's thoughts, unfortunately, were a little less innocent. _I'm totally gonna whoop that pink-haired flamestick's ass tomorrow…_

"Gray, why do you have that wicked gleam in your eyes? And that smirk…you better not be thinking something evil…"

"OF COURSE NOT ERZA! I LOVE MY BEST BUDDY NATSU AND WOULD NEVER THINK OF WHOOPING HIS ASS! "

"That's what I thought you'd say…"


	3. Chapter 3: The Job

Chapter 3: The Job (FINALLY!)

They were finally here. Lucy had to admit, the journeys getting to the jobs were usually worse than the jobs themselves. She looked at the flyer she'd taken from the request board. _Still the same ridiculously high reward for a ridiculously easy job…_ Lucy frowned. It shouldn't be this easy to get this much jewel. Was this a trap of some kind…? She wouldn't be surprised. After all, the strongest team in Fairy Tail did attract a lot of creeps and weirdos…she _really_ hoped this wasn't a trap.

"Mina, we're here!" Erza called to the two lagging teenagers behind her.

"Woah…" Lucy breathed. "It's…"

"HUUUUGE! HAPPY, LOOK! EVERYTHING'S HUGE! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu sucked in an enormous breath and let out his famous Fire Dragon's roar, blowing up the church of the now-abandoned town.

Erza and Lucy rolled their eyes. Of course Natsu would get right to the job.

Gray huffed out a breath. "There's no way that flame-headed idiot's going to do a better job than me…Ice-Make, Hammer!" Gray smashed an entire row of titan-sized shops into bits.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE HITTING STRIPPER! YOU ALMOST CRUSHED ME!"

"MAYBE I WANTED TO CRUSH YOU! EVER THOUGHT OF THAT SQUINTY EYES?!"

And then they commenced doing what the two mages did best…trying to outdo one another by means of mass destruction.

"We'd better get going Erza…Erza?" Lucy looked around for her friend.

"There is no way I'm being outdone by two IMMATURE MAGES LIKE YOU!"

And then Erza joined the mass destruction party, letting out a wild cry of "FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE!" while her swords went through the residential area of the titan town.

Watching her friends do what they did best, Lucy decided to do what she did best: analyze the situation. She still didn't trust that this job request had been sincere, and wanted to dig deeper into what exactly could be going on. Of course, she wouldn't let her friends do all of the work either.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

"Lucy-sama! How may I assist you, my blond beauty?"

"Taurus, help Erza and the others destroy that town!"

"Ok, but on one condition…a kiss?"

"NO YOU PERVERTED BULL! NOW GO DO YOUR JOB!"

With a palpable annoyance that he had not gotten his kiss, Taurus set off to destroy the town. With all four of their powers combined, the team looked like it would make short work of the town. Lucy still had at least an hour to reflect on what she thought of as a suspicious request.

_Lord Harwitt…where have I heard that name before…?_


	4. Chapter 4: The Beginning of a Journey

**Sorry for the late update everyone! Ya I don't have an excuse… *tears*. Don't kill me, but reviews are welcome! Like, favorite, all that jazz .**

Chapter 4: The Beginning of a Journey

Lucy P.O.V:

_Lord Harwitt, huh? I've definitely heard that name before..._ Lucy contemplated amid screams of "I TOTALLY DESTROYED MORE HOUSES THAN YOU DID!" and "HEY, THAT ONE WAS TOTALLY MINE YOU BIMBO!" "WHO YOU CALLIN' A BIMBO?!" "YOU!"

"SHUT…UP! I'M TRYING TO THINK!" Lucy shouted.

There was utter silence for a minute, and then all hell broke loose yet again. _These people are hopeless…_ she thought.

"Well, well, well what have we here? A member of Fairy Tail?" a voice crooned from behind Lucy.

Lucy stiffened, but didn't look back.

"Who's there?"

"Oh, I think you know very well who I am, Lucky Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy grimaced. The mysterious man was right, she knew exactly who he was. "Now I remember who you are. Lord Harwitt, master of transparency magic, crazy lunatic looking for more magic power. You were in those most- wanted posters I was looking at two weeks ago."

"You are very clever…" the voice twirled around her with a gust of air.

"And you have much magic power. Just what I was looking for."

Suddenly, Lucy saw a smile with jagged- looking teeth appear right in front of her face. She showed no emotion and remained perfectly still. There was another thing Lord Harwitt was known for…he would kill anyone he deemed a coward and absorb all their life energy and magic. In other words, he was a mass murderer.

"And you are brave. You have all the qualities that I look for in a mage to steal magic and ability from. Now, it is time for you to die!"

Lucy stood up quickly, but the now-visible Lord Harwitt was using the vines nearby to bind her up. Lucy was soon tightly bound in the vine-cage, unable to escape or even wriggle. _How is he using this kind of magic…? I thought he only had transparency magic!_

"I can see the questions you have in your eyes. Yes, Lucy Heartfilia, I can use many types of magic. I have absorbed over two hundred mages' magic in the past year alone. I am the most powerful mage you will ever meet. Too bad I'm the last face you will ever see!"

"All those people…you killed them?! YOU MONSTER!"

"Monster I may be, but I still won't set you free!" he sing-songed, laughing crazily. Then, his face grew into a mask, erasing any emotion from his face. "Goodbye, Lucy Heartfilia."

At this, Harwitt's eyes started to roll back into his head, the whites of his eyes now showing. He started chanting an ancient spell and dark clouds gathered above him and Lucy. Lucy started to glow. The clouds swirled around her, enveloping her body, making it difficult to see her. The clouds were sucking the golden light coming off Lucy into their dark depths, while Lucy writed in pain. Her silhouette was eventually completely covered. All that could be heard was a terrifying mixture of her screams and someone's crazed laughter.

**Natsu P.O.V in the next chapter everyone. Thanks for reading! I know it's starting a little slow but it'll get more fast-paced, I promise. Hint of NaLu, by the way. This might change later on to more than a hint ;). **

**-AJBerry**


	5. Chapter 5: Lucy is Gone?

**Aaaaaahhh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry ok? Finals were going on, but now that school is FINALLY over, I can get back to my writing. Reviews welcome and encouraged .**

Chapter 5: Lucy…Gone?

Natsu P.O.V:

"Did you hear something…?" Gray said. "Huh?! Where'd he go?! Natsu…?" Gray turned to face the dark, swirling mass of clouds now surrounding their little camp site. "Wha…WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!

Natsu was already rushing up the hills in Lucy's direction. He'd heard her screams. He was a Dragon-Slayer after all; he had a dragon's ears. Taurus had disappeared, as Lucy's magic power was currently being siphoned away by a maniacal lunatic (although, Natsu didn't know that).

_What the hell is going on…why was Lucy screaming…I'm gonna hunt down the bastard that hurt her…._ Natsu couldn't think straight. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. He was fast approaching the hill and didn't even know who or what he was up against. Wait…what? Natsu's THINKING? _Oh ya….THAT'S RIGHT! I DON'T NEED TO THINK! ALL I NEED TO DO IS KICK SOME ASS! Thanks, magic voice from the sky!_ "LUCY!" he cried out, breaking into the swirled mess of a storm. **(Author says, "No problem Natsu… although you did break the fourth wall….")**

Suddenly, the dark mass of clouds moved to surround him. He could see now that they had been levitating Lucy in the air, sucking her power into a dark tornado above her body. She was collapsed on the ground, unmoving. Natsu couldn't see if she was breathing or not. "Lucy! Hang in there!" _I don't need to be worried. No matter what, she always comes back to me…no matter what…_

He tried to run towards her, but vines had crept around his body, rendering him useless and unable to move. Natsu looked down. "WHEN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?!" Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Another useless idiot, huh? Why do I always get the stupid ones? The girl was much more intelligent…too bad she won't be talking anymore…" the voice chuckled a little bit, but Natsu thought it sounded empty and…evil.

"SHOW YOURSELF, YOU BASTARD!" Natsu yelled into the fog.

"Aaaaahhhh, easy on the ears there, idiot. But… if you really want to see me…here I am!" A smile with jagged looking teeth appeared in front of Natsu's face. The salmon-haired fire mage suddenly had the urge to rip this guy's mouth out of his face.

"I AM SO GOING TO MURDER YOU, YOU INVISIBLE BASTARD!" Natsu screamed, seemingly to empty air.

"Hmmm…I'm getting bored…the girl's magic power has been nearly siphoned…I think it's time to take yours." The voice turned menacing. A golden light surrounded Natsu. "What the…AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"The process has started boy! Soon all your magic power will be mine!"

Natsu's vision was starting to go black…_I have to do something! I still need to see Igneel! To tell him…about Lucy…and my family…MOVE, YOU IDIOT!" _It was no use. Natsu was on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness when… he saw her.

She got up, out of her crumpled position on the ground. Even though her body was a tattered mangled mess, her eyes were alive; there was a fire burning in those eyes. The fires of rage. The fires of love. "You…you dare hurt my friends…my family!? She whispered through clenched teeth.

"I'm surprised you could get up. What are you going to do about him, girl? Your magic power is almost gone. You'll be dead soon enough anyway." The voice sneered.

"I can do plenty. I will take revenge on you. My family…they're all I have. My reason for living! YOU WILL NEVER TAKE MY FAMILY FROM ME!

Lucy's body started to glow with a silver, ethereal light. Her dragon keys lit up. There was an immense amount of magic power radiating from her. Suddenly, her body twirled up in the air. She snapped open her eyes, which had turned a peculiar shade of gold, and stared at the man with a hate-filled gaze. Her celestial spirits had granted her ethereal sight. His transparency magic had no effect on her.

"YOU WHO DARE DESECRATE MY FAMILY…I LAY WASTE TO YOU AND YOURS…PRAY FOR SURVIVAL…"

The man was cowering in fear. "No…how could this girl…HOW COULD THIS GIRL BE SO POWERFUL?!"

Lucy didn't wait for his pleas and begs. She formed the silver light emanating from her into one sparking, heavenly, deadly, firecracker orb, and shot it at the man.

It was almost too quick to see.

But then, there was nothing to see.

There was nothing left of him.

Natsu was released from the vines. Erza and Gray ran up to him. "Natsu! What happened!?" Erza shouted. Then she saw Lucy. "Oh my God…Lucy!"

"Hey guys…" Lucy turned her battered and bruised face to her concerned group of friends. "It was a good run…"

"No Lucy, you're not going anywhere! Get up, we're taking you home! Erza said, on the verge of hysteria.

Lucy closed her eyes and laughed softly. "I love all of you…" A tear fell out of the corner of her eye, making its way slowly down her temples. "I wanted to…have so many more adventures! Just a bit more time…with my…family…Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she looked straight at Natsu. "Find him. Find Igneel. Find your family. You…never know how much time you'll have left." She turned to face Gray. "…She really does love you. Make sure you're not too hard on Juvia…" She let out a soft chuckle. Natsu didn't realize that it was his favorite sound until just now. How…sad. Suddenly, Lucy let out a gasp. Her head rolled back and her eyes closed. "Bye…" she whispered.

"Lucy…wake up! Lucy? Wake up!" Erza turned to Natsu and shook him. "NATSU! SHE'S NOT WAKING UP!"

Natsu stared at the lifeless body of his nakama, not registering anything. She…was amazing. She sacrificed herself for him. _Wait…Lucy's not dead…SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE! Yeah…she's still right there. In front of me. I just have to wait until she wakes up…she'll wake up…she will…she always does…_

"LUCY!" Erza cried. Gray hugged her tight, tears running down his face.

Sheets of silver poured from the sky, dripping onto the former team of four.

_It started raining._ Natsu thought.

_People say rain cures sadness and washes pain away._

Everything went black.

_Not this time…not ever again…_

Words on a black background…

_The pain will never go away._

**I feel like Natsu's going a little crazy. I didn't anticipate that. It's funny how sometimes the characters have minds of their own, even if the author's the one who wrote the story. That was a pretty cliché ending, huh?**

**Next chapter in 2 days!**


	6. Author's Note

Note: This isn't a chapter…although I will be posting a chapter.

I PROMISE THIS TIME!

I'M JUST SO LAZY I'M SO SORRY FOR ALL THE READERS OUT THERE I KNOW HOW IT FEELS WHEN SOMEONE DOESN'T UPDATE!

And yet…*dramatic sigh*…

No really guys, sorry about not posting. There will be one up tomorrow, I promise!

(Tomorrow is 6/19/14 by the way)

Oh, and special thanks to user xxRylxx for the resounding reminder that I actually have responsibilities.

Sayonara! (until the next chapter…)


	7. Chapter 6: What Now?

Chapter 6: What Now?

Mirajane P.O.V:

It was a normal day at the guild. Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Gray had gone out on a mission together, as usual, and the guild was as noisy as ever, even with the main troublemakers gone.

"Oi, Mira!" Wakaba called. "Get me a beer!"

"You got it!" She chirped cheerfully.

As she turned around, she heard Wakaba cat-call and whistle at her voluminous rear. So, she did the only reasonable thing to do; she turned into his wife (who was absolutely terrifying, by the way) and scared the living crap out of him.

Suddenly, the doors of Fairy Tail blasted open and hit the table Gajeel and Levy were sitting at.

In unison, Mira and Gajeel shouted, "NATSU! STOP BREAKING FAIRY TAIL! WE LITERALLY JUST GOT THE GUILD HALL REPAI-"

There was a collective gasp from the members.

Mira rushed over to the broken and battered team and saw Lucy in Erza's arms.

"Oh my God…SOMEONE GET PORLYUSICA-SAN!" Mira called. Levy took one look at Lucy and rushed out of the guild hall.

Erza looked at Mira, eyes brimming with tears. "Mi- Mira…Lucy…Lucy…" she trailed off at the end in a whisper.

"I know, I know. Come on, bring her to the infirmary. Gray, Natsu, go up the Master Makarov's office and explain what happened." Situations like this were what Mirajane was born for. She had a healing hand as well as a healing heart, as a result of the trauma of her younger sister Lisanna's supposed "death". She could understand another's pain as well as know exactly what to remedy it with.

"Ok, Erza. Put Lucy on that bed over there. Gently, now. Good, good." She spoke soothingly, as if she was talking to a wounded child (which, technically, she was).

She looked at Lucy. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. She was absolutely still and pale.

"Mira…I couldn't stop it. I lost Simon and now Lucy…why do I have to be so weak?! I CAN'T PROTECT ANYBODY I LOVE!"

Mira wrapped her arms around Erza comfortingly, but then covered her mouth with a rag.

Erza started, "What are you-…" but then her eyes closed and she fell limp in Mira's arms.

"Gomenasai (sorry), Erza." Mira whispered, gently placing her on an empty bed.

"Sweet dreams…"

FTFTFTFTFTFTFT

"…and then he disappeared." Gray finished as Mira walked into the master's office.

Natsu was sitting on a chair, staring into space. He looked stunned and traumatized.

"Master, both Lucy and Erza are…asleep." She said hastily, looking at Natsu. "At least, Erza's asleep."

"Ah, Mira. It's good you're finally here." Makarov turned to Gray. "Ok, Gray, tell Mira everything you just told me."

Gray took a deep breath. "Okay so we were completing a mission in the mountains and…"

(20 minutes later)

Mira had her hands over her mouth.

"No…that sounds like…"

Makarov nodded grimly. "Exactly what I was thinking, Mira."

They both said in unison, "Lord Harwitt."

"He's the most feared wizard in the land, next to Zeref. He's said to have a heart of stone and a thirst for power." Mira explained to Gray.

Her face darkened. "He's the worst kind of person out there there is."

"So…he killed Lucy just to take her power and use it for his own means…" Gray whispered.

"She's not dead." A small voice said out of the corner.

"She's not dead and she's not gone."

It was Natsu. He was still staring out the window, as if hypnotized.

"Of course not, sweetie. She's just asleep." Mira soothed.

Natsu didn't respond.

Levy burst through the doors.

"Porlyusica is here!"

Gray glanced at Natsu. "We might have to have her look at two people today."

"Lucy first." Makarov said.

FTFTFTFTFTFT

Porlyusica slowly got up, her face a stony mask.

Around Lucy's bed, three waiting faces (and one vacant one) stared up at her.

Erza was still knocked out in the next cot.

"It's no use."

The room went quiet.

"She's gone."

Tears started pouring out of Mira's eyes as Gray hugged her, staring hollowly at the wall. Makarov turned away and Natsu…Natsu didn't do anything.

"But there is one strange thing…"

Everyone in the room snapped to attention.

Porlyusica held up Lucy's key ring. It held her Dragon Keys and her Celestial Keys. "If she's dead, why aren't her keys gone? If she really _was_ dead, and I'm not saying that she isn't mind you, I'm just saying that if the situation was a normal one, her keys would have dispersed to other holders."

Gray looked up, new hope in his eyes.

"So…does that mean that she's alive…somewhere?"

Mira interjected, "She might have been transported to Edolas, like Lisanna was. Remember the legend? As long as the Tenrou Tree on Tenroujima Island stands strong, no one who bears the Fairy Tail mark can be killed!" Mira started jumping up and down, ecstatic.

"She must be in Edolas!"

"She's not in Edolas." A dull voice rung out.

"She's in there."

The whole room looked to where Natsu was pointing.

"NANI?!"

**Heheheheheheh cliff hanger! Next chapter in three days (and this time, you can count on it ;) )**

**By the way, anyone know why Mirajane carries chloroform in her pocket? She's scarier than I expected…**


	8. Chapter 7: Where's Lucy?

Chapter 7: Where's Lucy?

Natsu P.O.V:

"She's in there."

.

.

.

"NANI?!"

Everyone stared at Natsu like he was crazy, which, at this point, he probably was.

"She's been in there this entire time, talking inside my head."

"That's impossible, Natsu. Why the hell would she be inside her Dragon Keys?!" Gray piped up.

Natsu shrugged. "I dunno. She's been there this entire time."

Porlyusica stood up, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Erza," she said to the scarlet-haired mage, who, at this point, was awake and excitedly listening to everything, "Did Lucy's Dragon Keys glow by any chance when she took out Lord Harwitt."

Erza squinted her eyes up at the ceiling, trying to remember. Finally, she sighed. "I don't know. It's entirely possible, but Lucy's whole body was glowing. I was temporarily blinded so I really couldn't see anything."

"Well, assuming the Dragon Keys did glow, the dragons probably saved Lucy at the last minute and transferred her soul into their world. No matter what happened to her body, her soul would survive." Porlyusica said.

Mira gasped and her eyes filled with tears. "So she is alive! Hey, Natsu. What's Lucy saying now? Can you talk to her? Ask her where she is and how we get there!" Mirajane said.

"I can only hear what she's saying. She can't hear me for some reason. She's in the Dragon World and is wandering around trying to find somebody." Natsu grinned. "If she's with the dragons, we've got nothing to worry about! Igneel will take care of her!"

Mirajane sighed. "But what about us? We want her back here!"

"Mira, want me to go get Levy?" Gray said.

"Yeah, we need to find out either how to get into the Dragon World, or how to get Lucy out of there."

Erza turned to Natsu. "Natsu, there's one thing I'm confused about. How come the dragons aren't just living on Earthland? Did you send them back to the Dragon World after you found them?"

Natsu nodded. "Well, Igneel mostly talked to Lucy about them stuff 'cause it involved complicated words like 'alternate dimension' and 'space-time continuum' but I remember that Igneel said that dragons weren't initially from Earthland. It was the celestial spirit wizards who called them here from their keys, and then the dragons lived on here off their key holder's power. But only really powerful celestial spirit wizards could summon dragons."

Natsu took a deep breath.

"When some bad guys found out about the dragons and their key holders, they killed the holders in order to steal their keys and control the dragons. We defeated the guys who'd stolen the keys, so Lucy got the keys and freed the dragons. So they went back to the Dragon World."

Erza nodded. "So all we have to do now is find out how to transfer Lucy's soul between worlds without ripping it apart…_We are so screwed!_"


End file.
